Toy saw mill



Dec. l, 1959 Filed Oct. 30. 1957 G. E. MILLIGAN TOY SAW MILL 2 Sheets-Shea?I l "Ulm" 1 77M@ Vw@ im ATTORNEY G. E. MILLIGAN 2,914,885

Toy .sAw MILL 2 Sheets-Sheet *2 Dec. l, 1959 Filed oct. 3o, 1957 iI l E I I I BY I v y .2,914,885 "lfroyskwfMILL 1 Gaymond .E.Milligan, Houston,` Tex., assignor to Lionel Corporation, New. York, N.Y.,a corporation of New York i The present invention relates 'to' aftoy` accessory and is *more particularlyrelatedto Va device for simulating the "appearance and' audible sound-of the Yc'utting'of rough 'tifnber'or-logs` inA a`= flumber mill intohsmooth` or finished planks or boards. y

In carrying out such an operation, the rough'timber :For lumber visfsliifted from' itsfeeding station, where it is visible', toialumber cutting mill'fromuwhichit is confveyed toa d is'chargestan'on where it islfobscuredffrom l view. Finished lumberplanks, or similar dimensions to .the'f-rou'gh timber areinitially` held- "atthe vfeeding station @obscured 'from View, and are`,bythe same-means which convey the roughI lumberrplanks simultaneously.. trans- 4a-portedthrough the same mill Ito theldis'charge' 'station "wherethey are visible. i

`A`When the' finished planks or boardsiare in a position flwh'ere they? are. visible, 1 additional -me'ansaare4 provided to stackfthellumberin such ama nner` as to preparelit forV pick-up.` and 1 loading.` into transportation means.

fTheuaccompanyingidrawingsshow, for purposes of ililustratingfthe present invention,` one embodiment iirwliich the'inventionf` may LStake' form, itbeing understood `that theidrawingsi-are illustrativeiiof the inventionirather than v'fIntheaccorripanying1drawings: 1 i

Fig. l is a perspective View of the lumber. mill; `sflig...Zeistafrontwiewfoftherinvennion las shown in f Fig.fl:withipartsbrokenaway;

, .fFigjv Seis: ai toptplan` .viewr 'oftheinvention Iasshown in Fig. 1 with parts broken away; i *Eig* 4:1- isv arsectiorial view taken Ialo`ng1theline. 4- of-Fig.w3; i

' F'E'ig. 4Seis: atop-plan sectional View of a portion :of'the 'i 'invention.iasshownI inFig." l with parts broken away;

Fig. 6 lis an enlarged-sectioual*viewtakenalongthe line of Fig. 2;

l :"Eig. 7:"isf'an enlarged sectional viewlt-aken along'the line -7-7 of Fig. ,6; Y

Figa Salis.:-aneenlargedsectionalview taken along the -z .line 7-7-'of Fig.` 'fafter -the operation* of--certainfof the spartsgsand f, g f v f Fig. 9 is an enlarged sectional viewrtaken along the line 9-,91of Eigr 2. i

f. In` Fig:r l sssho'wna toyflurnberrnill` device,; indicated ."igenerally'ra 510,::havingiasimulated, cuttingf-miilljlzV at i a'rpoint substantiallyintermediatexits rlength. The dei vice `can "bef-madewof: metal, -libre plastic orv "other" suitable material which can;haveiitseXteriorv surface paintedl or otherwise'fdecorateddin desiredrnanner. Asthespeci- :lcation-proceedadnwill tbe lnotedthat Lhave described my lumber mill device-tasnconstructed from metallicifma- .:tenials .However, itis :understood that `this has .been fdoneforwsimplicity offexpression and that manufacture 'rotiV vthe;mill-fromothen materials asshereinabove set forth is fully within thespiritvof any invention.

".The mil1s12-forms the housing forelectrical motor l14 andireduotion-gearing `161(Eig. `2) whichlcauses the `automatic operation of the device to be hereinafter described.

ice

The mill 12is mounted on base portion 17 which eX- tends the `full length of the device. Asv seen in Figs.` l and'9, `this `base portion -has` a bottom wall 18, a front wall 19 and a downwardly and rearwardly slopingtop Wall 20 forming rthe hollow interior 22. The mill 12 is Welded or by other suitable means atlixed at 25 to the upper surface of wall 20 so that front wall 26 `of the mill is substantially vparallel to andintegrally connected with wall 19. l

" 36 is parallel to the rear wall'fSS of base portion 17.

An lend section 39;likewise. having a hollow 'interior 40, includes `an `inner -wall 41, an outer wall 42, atop Wall-46 and a downwardsloping forward wall 48. Top

wallf46of Tend section' 39 integrally joins the top Wall" 34 1y joined.

i 41 'of end *section* 39, .substantially/parallel to front Wall 32rofthe rear section 29. `rThis 'shaped wall 50 may 4be joined to Walls's27 and 41 by. welding or other suitable means.

This VVI f-shaped wall` or bracket forms apocket v54 l(Fig. 9)"1-wherein retained, obscured from View, the

nished L lumber planksrftl. "These nishedplanksfw rest ion' the lower"substantially horizontallyr extending portion; 51of1the'bracket 50 and* are freely slidable kunder action of `a1mecl1anismto be later described. The :trough lumber 62 (Fig. l) `restsfin open :view on the downwardly.slopingsurface of wall `2t? of station'28. The rear edge wall 2t) is flanged upwardlyat 63 to form fa pick-npirecess 21' for the Vrough) lumber 62. These roughlogs,` representing-tree trunks, rolldown surface 20 to rest inigrecess"21substantiallyjunder*the planks tlresting infpocket-f54.

Wall 27 terminatesat 66ste provide opening 67 to allow -therlogs V62 and lumber dtltopass through. intothe mill `:l2-and a similarcooperating opening (not shown) is 'pro- -videdfm1vvall 63-of mill .l2-,so.thatfrtherstationrfZS and lumber dischargestation .703 toebehereinafter described,

.lare in free and open communication.

s"'o-:and-oneplank 60 and;y moves :them fin, therdireotion of A"l n1echanism,= to be later described, grasps' one. log

arrow 64 (Fig. l). The.visibleeroughlog.d2-then.ap-

pears to'enter thetsawmill -12 throughopeningd'ir while l Y the smooth I-plank 6d,V moving simultaneously, is.. hidden -from View behind.v partition vvall 50.

i ExtendingA laterally from.. side-'wallV .68 of mill: 12 .and

by weldingf.Y solderingf.- or `other, suitable means f affixed (Fig. 7)\\only slightly` as..,compared withtheangeivof the wall 20 of station..28. Ata.point;intermediateA of "wall 720..of station,.28,is. arr-:upwardly ,projectingsloped (Fig- 7) and. top wall `78. Top wall `78 has adownwardly lprojecting ange 80.

Connected to the walls 76, 78, of rear section 73 3 and walls 18, 19 and 20 of base section 17 of station 70 is a flat end wall 82.

A pivotable member 84 (Figs. 2, 5, 7) is mounted by pins 86 to the mill wall 68 opposite to wall 26 and end wall 82. This pivotable member has a at portion 90, in substantially the same plane as the lower end 51 of bracket S hereinbefore described, an upwardly ilanged portion 92 and a downwardly sloping forward eXtension 94.

In operation, when a lumber plank 60 has been trans- Aferred from hidden pocket 54 through mill 12 through openings in walls 26 and 68, it will come into view as it slides onto flat portion 90 of member 84. By means to be later described, member 84 is pivoted about the pin 86 (Fig. 8) so that plank 60 will slideoff member 84 down the sloping wall 72 and come to rest in wall 20 in a position indicated at 60 (Figs. 1 and 3).

At the same time the rough lumber 62, which has been simultaneously conveyed by the same means, will be carried from its visible position through openings in walls 26 and 68 through mill 12 to a hidden position behind wall 72 and extension 94 of member 84. This rough lumber will be discharged from the device to the rear, obscured from view, where it may be collected for further use by replacing it on the sloping wall 20 of station 28.

In Fig. 2 there is shown a constant speed motor 14 mounted to a bracket 100 which is affixed by conventional means to a portion of the mill 12. A rachet gear 102 is mounted at the lower end of the drive shaft 104 and engages reduction gearing 16.

Aixed by screws or other suitable means to the walls 36, 38 (Fig. 9) of section 28, and rear wall 108 (Fig. 3) of mill 12, is a U-shaped bracket 110 (Fig. 9) to which is mounted the driving means for the lumber 60-62 which causes them to move in the direction of arrow 64 (Fig. l).

These drive means includes a chain 112 threaded between the sprocket gears 114, 116 which are mounted on shafts 118, 120. These shafts freely rotate in openings 122 in bracket 110. This mounting is illustrated in Fig. 9 for one shaft and the other is mounted in like manner. 'The shaft 120 is connected through shaft extension 121 to a gear 125 from whence it receives its drive power.

Axed to chain 112 is a paddle 130 by conventional means. 'Ihis paddle has an upper arm 132 which extends substantially horizontal and will engage one end of the nished lumber plank 60 resting on extension 51 of bracket 50 in pocket 54.

The lower arm 134 of paddle 130 is substantially circular, and will engage the end of a round piece of rough lumber 62 resting on the inclined wall 20.

It is seen that as the chain is driven by means of motor 14 through gearing 16, shaft extension 121, gear 125 and shaft 120, the arms 132, 134 of chain paddle 130 will engage a piece of finished lumber and a piece of rough lumber and simultaneously carry them as hereinbefore described from station 28 to station 70 through openings in opposite side walls 26, 68 of mill 12. The rough lum ber sliding along the rear edge 63 and 71 of Wall 20 and the smooth lumber along portion 51 of partition wall 50 and flat portion 90 of member 84.

As paddle 130 approaches the shaft 116 the curved surface of the paddle arm 134 will engage the clip cam 136 mounted to at portion 90 of member 84 (Fig. 6) and this clip cam will cause by its camming action, a pivoting of member 84, as hereinbefore discussed, about pin 86.

A second cam member 140 (Figs. 5 and 7) is also mounted on the inner surface of extension 94 of member 84 to insure that the rough logs will be positively ejected from the device towards the rear.

As the chain 112 continues in its path around shafts 118, 120 continuous operation results that will give the illusion to the observer of rough lumber being transported to the saw mill and coming out as iinished planks.

As the rough lumber 62 moves into saw mill 12 under 4 the push of paddle its lead end engages a contact arm 146 (Fig. 9). This arm is connected by means of a rod 148 to a fan shapedmetal plate 150. Plate 150 (Fig. 2) is normally held in the position 150' away from rotating toothed gear 152 mounted to the upper end of shaft 104 by a spring 156 (Fig. 3).

As the arm 146 is moved by the lead end of log 62, it pivots metal fan against the action of spring 156 so that the fan engages rotating toothed gear 152. The audible sound resulting from this contact will for all intents and purposes be a reproduction of the normal sound of a saw cutting lumber in a saw mill.

When the rear end of log 62 passes by the arm 146, and pressure is released from arm 146, spring 156 will disengage the fan 150 from gear 152 and return fan 150 to the position 150 for further action when arm 146 is engaged by the forward end of the next log 62 entering mill 12.

I have described what I believe to be the best embodiments of my invention. I do not wish, however, to be coniined to the embodiments shown, but what I desire to cover by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A toy converting mill simulating device comprising walls defining a simulated mill having an inlet and a discharge, conveyor means arranged to move from outside said mill through said inlet and out said discharge, a material receiving station including Wall means for storing finished materials in a hidden location outside said mill adjacent said inlet and in the vicinity of said conveyor means, and for storing rough unfinished materials outside said mill adjacent said inlet in a visible location adjacent said conveyor means, and a finished material discharge station for delivering 'finished materials to a visible location adjacent the discharge of said mill, means on said conveyor to engage a finished piece of material and move it while hidden from view into said mill and through said discharge into a visible location on saiddischarge station and to engage a rough unfinished piece of material at a visible location adjacent the inlet of said mill and move it into said mill, and means cooperable with said conveyor to remove said unfinished piece of material to the interior of said mill.

2. A toy converting mill simulating device according to claim 1 wherein said finished materials are simulated lumber planks and said unfinished materials are simulated rough logs.

3. A toy article as in claim 1 including means for reproducing the audible sound of the mill sawing action while said simulated lumber is being conveyed through said mill from said simulated lumber receiving station to said simulated lumber discharge station.

4. A toy converting mill simulating device according to claim 1 including a pivotally mounted platform at said discharge station arranged to receive finished material thereon and means to pivot said platform as the next succeeding piece of material is fed thereto whereby to dump the previously fed material down to a lower location at said discharge station.

5. A toy converting mill simulating device according to claim 4 wherein said discharge station includes a hidden inclined deck to receive said rough unfinished materials and said pivotally mounted platform includes a skirt por tion extending therebeneath and in the path of said deck to retain rough unfinished materials thereon, said skirt being movable with said platform as the next material is being fed thereto to release said rough unfinished material and permit it to roll down the inclined deck.

6. A toy converting mill simulating device according to claim 5 wherein said means to pivot said platform includes means on said conveyor to contact said platform and tilt it during movement of said conveyor.

7. A toy device for simulating the cutting action of a saw-mill and for simulating the4 cutting of rough lumber into smooth lumber planks, said device including wall means defining a central simulated saw mill, having an vinlet at one end and a discharge at the opposite end, platform means on each side of said saw mill including a loading station connecting said inlet and a discharge station connecting said outlet, said loading station including a vertical pocket for the storing of simulated finished lumber planks thereon in a position hidden from View and including an inclined ramp for the storage of simulated rough lumber logs thereon, conveyor means extending from said loading station through said mill to said discharge station, said conveyor means including means for engaging a finished piece of simulated lumber plank and a simulated rough log fand moving each into said mill, means inside said mill for removing said simulated rough log from said conveyor means, said simulated finished plank being delivered to said discharge station at a visible location thereon.

8. The toy according to claim 7 including means inside References Cited in the lile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 137,626 Smith Apr. 8, 1873 2,669,061 Orren etal Feb. 16, 1954 2,732,958 Bonnano Ian. 31, 1956 

